For the Greater Good
by Delphina Evans
Summary: Nora Selwyn disappeared from the wizarding world fifteen years ago with a heavy heart and a warrant out for her arrest. When the Dark Lord rises again, she must choose between her shadowy past and a new start with the Order. Post-OoTP. Slight AU. Sirius/OC.


**Chapter One**

Kingsley Shacklebolt sat in the front seat of his Muggle car, parked in a secluded section of the employee parking deck at Downing Street. It was 8:00am, a bit too early to begin work, and yet there he was: sitting, watching, waiting. After Rufus Scrimgeour's surprise visit to the Muggle political world, the Prime Minister had been very confused and upset—understandably, of course. He hadn't sacked Kingsley quite yet, so he clearly understood the magnitude of the situation. Nevertheless, Dumbledore and Scrimgeour had altered his assignment. This change, however, didn't come about merely because of the Prime Minister predicament.

The only words Snape spoke at the last Order meaning were "He wants Nora Selwyn," but when he said them the whole room changed. Everyone fell silent and looked toward Dumbledore, whose stoic expression had faltered slightly at Snape's announcement.

"We will make arrangements," Dumbledore had finally said after a minute's pause. And with that, Kingsley was put on the case.

Kingsley reached over to the passenger seat and pulled the thick red folder into his lap. He opened the folder and began thumbing through the seemingly endless pages, as he had done countless times before. But he could never be too careful. It was entirely possible that he had missed a critical detail, some horrid oversight that could bring down the entire operation. He sighed, having reached the end of the stack, and flipped back over to the very first page. A serious young woman with brown hair pulled back and dark blue eyes peered up at him from the paper. She crossed her arms and stared ahead as he began to read, for the umpteenth time:

OPEN CASE FILE #32634653478357983

WARRANT # 263460-90-39

WARRANT ISSUED 29-5-1980

CHARGE(S): 2 COUNTS CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, 10 COUNTS HIGH TREASON, 15 COUNTS MURDER, and 27 COUNTS GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM

Name: Nora Millicent Selwyn

Sex: Female

Date of Birth: April 3, 1960 (age 36)

Place of Birth: London, England

Education:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Slytherin, 1977

St. Mungo's Advanced Healing Academy, 1977 – 1980 (failed to graduate)

Employment: Healer's Apprentice, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, 1978-1980 (terminated)

Relations:

Caspar Hammond Selwyn, father (deceased, aged 52)

Morgana Ainsley Selwyn, neé Yaxley (deceased, aged 47)

Caspar Hammond Selwyn, II, brother (deceased, aged 25)

Lionel Yaxley Selwyn, brother (deceased, aged 32)

Daphne Adelaide Selwyn, sister (deceased, aged 19)

Known Associates: Sirius Black (at large)

Bellatrix Lestrange (at large)

Rodolphus Lestrange (at large)

_See addendum for other known associates (total: forty-seven)_

Explanation of Charges:

2 COUNTS CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER: _Conspired to murder two __individuals (see addendum)._

10 COUNTS HIGH TREASON: _Provided magical-medical assistance and knowledge in ten separate incidents to members of a known criminal entity. (see addendum)._

15 COUNTS MURDER: _Murdered and/or assisted in the murder of fifteen individuals (see addendum)._

27 COUNTS GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM: _Caused grievous bodily harm to twenty-seven individuals resulting in irreparable physical damage (see addendum)._

_Ms. Selwyn was born on April 3, 1960, to Mr. and Mrs. Caspar Selwyn in London, England. Her childhood is unremarkable. At age eleven, she began her education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, as customary, in Slytherin House. She achieved O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores all at Exceeds Expectations or above, with the majority of her scores at Outstanding. Upon graduation from Hogwarts in 1977, Ms. Selwyn was accepted to St. Mungo's Advanced Healing Academy and later began an apprenticeship at St. Mungo's Hospital under Healer Josiah Blumenstein. Her academic records and annual apprentice evaluations show excellent understanding and implementation of magical-medical knowledge and procedures, as well as impeccable bedside manner._

_ As a student at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore approached Ms. Selwyn with an offer of membership to the Order of the Phoenix, which she readily accepted. The details of her allegiance to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and involvement with the Death Eaters are unknown at this time, but participation in illegal activities is documented as earlier as January 1978 (see addendum). Ms. Selwyn was a member of the Order of the Phoenix for approximately thirteen months before she permanently left the organization to join the ranks of the Death Eaters._

_ Ms. Selwyn was charged with the crimes outlined above on 28 May 1980 and a warrant was issued for her arrest on 29 May 1980. She has not been sighted since 1 November 1981, when a credible Department informant witnessed her outside of a Wizengamot courtroom (see addendum). It is not known how Ms. Selwyn entered the Ministry of Magic without detection. Her current whereabouts and condition are unknown._

_ Nora Selwyn should be considered EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and should not be approached without sufficient supporting personnel and careful tactical planning. Her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s indicate a high level of intelligence. Her records at St. Mungo's present a similar image. She trained in attack and defense magic throughout her time with both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. Her extensive knowledge of and practical experience with magical-medical procedures, although at the apprentice level, enable her to be ever evasive, as she is capable of treating herself for whatever magical maladies may befall her in battle. _

_ Among her known associates is the fugitive Sirius Black, with whom she had a brief romantic relationship as an adolescent (see addendum). She may be assisting Mr. Black at this time and may have joined efforts with him to further escape apprehension. For this reason, and as evidenced by the severity of the charges brought against her, the Department believes that Ms. Selwyn will not hesitate to betray, maim, or kill again. The number of victims of the crimes for which Ms. Selwyn has been charged is ESTIMATED. The Department is unaware of the true extent of Ms. Selwyn's crimes due to the vast multitude of similar crimes committed by an indeterminate number of people during the War (see addendum). She may be more capable and dangerous than the Department has noted in this file._

Kingsley sighed, placed the folder back onto the passenger seat, and rubbed the space between his eyes. The file, although it was his key investigative document, had clearly not been updated in several years. Sirius Black was not on the run with Nora Selwyn. According to Kingsley's own interview with him, Sirius hadn't had any contact with her since the night the Potters died almost fifteen years ago, and he didn't report her to the authorities when he found her. _Maybe he didn't have the time, _Kingsley mused. Hours after Sirius met with Nora, he was arrested for the murder of thirteen Muggles and one Peter Pettigrew, and was promptly carted off to Azkaban without a trial. The file was incredibly inaccurate in another way as well: Nora Selwyn's whereabouts were no longer a mystery.

Sometime after 1 November 1981, Nora Millicent Selwyn the Healer-turned-Death Eater became Lindsey Jane Hart, a senior secretary in the office of the Prime Minister of England who sat at a desk ten meters from his own.

Kingsley looked up at the sudden sound of another car entering the deck. He expected it to be Nora; she always arrived at 8:15am and parked in the same secluded spot every morning, without fail. He'd been tailing her for months now and he knew her routine intimately. In recent weeks, he'd started parking his car on the same floor of the deck as she did, arriving just a few minutes before. He would watch her climb out of her car, walk across the deck to the elevator, and disappear behind its cool silver doors before exiting his own vehicle. Then he would examine her car carefully with all manner of detection charms, making note of anything unusual. There hadn't been anything unusual yet—perhaps today was the day.

But Nora was not behind the wheel of this particular car, Kingsley quickly discovered. It was Javier, one of the summer interns. Kingsley lifted his hand in a brief greeting as Javier drove past to an upper floor of the deck. He folded his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. Sleep was a thing of the past these days, with Lord Voldemort trying to rebuild his army and the Order doing anything to stop him. Tracking Nora was all part of the plan. Nora Selwyn, her Healer's training, and her experience with Voldemort's first reign would be valuable assets in the War. It was just a matter of whose side she would choose.

1:30pm, and no sign of Nora. Kingsley watched all morning as papers piled up on her desk. He overheard her secretary say "Lindsey" had left a message with the office the night before, explaining that she was feeling ill and wouldn't be into work today. Alarm bells went off in Kingsley's head. This was highly irregular. He'd watched her for months now and she had shown up to the office on numerous occasions with a sickly pallor and a hoarse voice. She wasn't one to simply take a day off, of that he was sure. He thought of sending an owl to Dumbledore to alert him of the situation, but thought better of it. There was no use involving Dumbledore in such a matter until he knew that something was amiss. The old man and the Order were far too busy these days to bother with a false alarm. Nora could actually be quite ill and recovering at home. He decided it best to ease his mind and find out for himself.

At 2:00, Kingsley slipped on his overcoat and made a quiet exit from the office. No one would miss him, and no one would sack him, either. Not when the Prime Minister himself seemed so adamant about keeping him in his position. He drove from the Downing Street deck to Nora's address, thirty-five blocks north at 114 Cutler Drive, Apartment 27G. He saw her car, a sleek black Jaguar, parked in its usual spot in front of the tall, imposing stone building. Kingsley swung around the block and parked his own car out of sight. He tucked his wand into his jacket as he approached the building, only to take it back out again to gain entry to the main lobby, careful to watch for nosy Muggles. He quickly crossed the marble-floored hall and took the elevator up to the tenth floor.

As the elevator ascended, Kingsley ran through his plan. He'd knock on Nora's door, of course, and if she answered, he'd tell her that she was needed in the office for some dire philanthropic emergency. He'd tried reaching her on her cell phone but the call wasn't going through. He was heading home early, her secretary gave him the address, and he realized it was on his way to his own apartment anyway. And if she didn't answer, well, he'd deal with that accordingly and send an owl off to Dumbledore as soon as he could.

Kingsley thought back to Nora's file, sitting on the passenger seat of his car. Do not approach without sufficient supporting personnel and careful tactical planning. The elevator reached the tenth floor and the doors slid open, revealing a long carpeted hallway. Kingsley briefly considered going back down without checking on Nora on at all. This was dangerous. This was not an intelligent decision. But there was no time to assemble a team of Aurors to assist, not with hundreds of other Dark wizards running around England, terrorizing magical folk and Muggles alike. He was trained for just this type of situation.

Kingsley casually approached Nora's apartment casually but stopped dead in his tracks a few meters from the door. It was wide open, and shredded to bits. Wood splinters lay all across the carpet. The doorknob was dangling from its usual place. Kingsley immediately drew his wand and held it out in front of him. He stepped over the mess and peered into the apartment. It was nearly pitch black.

"_Lumos_," he muttered. The tip of his wand burst into light. He slowly crossed the threshold and held the wand above his head so he could properly see. The apartment was in shambles: furniture upturned, books and papers scattered, various belongings broken in two. Something horrible had happened to Nora Selwyn.

Kingsley continued to survey the apartment. There was no blood, but surely signs of a struggle. "Ms. Hart?" He hesitantly called out into the darkness. He stood in her hallway and waited. Had the neighbors heard anything? Was it worth interviewing them? How was he going to explain this to Dumbledore, to Scrimgeour? Was it Death Eaters? Had Voldemort gotten to her before the Order could? Kingsley was so distracted by the perplexity of the situation that when he rounded the corner with his wand raised, it took him a full five seconds to realize that a silver handgun was aimed at his forehead.

Nora Selwyn stared squarely into his eyes. He felt a sharp jab and knew immediately that she had a wand pointed directly into his chest. Kingsley watched as she pursed her lips and titled her head slowly to the left.

"I wasn't sure which one would frighten you more, so I'm using both."

**A/N: **I haven't published fan fiction in about ten years. This was just something that's been floating around in my brain for a long while now. I've finally gotten around to writing it. Unbeta'd, so any mistakes are my own.


End file.
